Secret Admirer
by DegenerateStar
Summary: As of 2013 there are 161 million women in the US. A survey conducted on behalf of violence prevention organizations estimated that 16.2 percent or 1 out of every 6 of those women will be a victim of stalking at some point in her life. This estimate equates to 26,082,000 women stalked annually in the US and 13 percent of those women will be stalked by a complete stranger.
1. Chapter 1

**An: Here's another story. Its not related to my other story Deception. **

**Basically I was inspired by the show on ID network called Stalked where it gives live accounts from victims of stalking and I wanted to see if I could write a piece that showed my favorite detective as the victim. Carter personality has always reminded me of the type of people who always goes above and beyond for others but when their in need they choose to keep things to themselves because they feel like 1.) They don't want to feel like they owe anyone for anything and 2.) Feels like a burden on others if they ask for help. **

**I want to take her out of the role of the persons who's usually doing the saving and place her in the victims role and try to capture the emotional struggle that shes going to have to go through. Hopefully it works out. **

**Once again I don't own any rights to the show Person of Interest or any of its characters.  
**

* * *

_According to the the New York State Penal Code;_

_ A person is guilty of stalking when he or she intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person, and knows or reasonably should know that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable fear of material harm to the physical health, safety or property of such person, a member of such person's immediate family or a third party with whom such person is acquainted._

* * *

I. Someone's Watching

Mary's feet buckled under her as she tore through the forest bare foot. If he caught her, he would kill her, she had to get away. Her heart pounded in her chest and ears as she ran for her life.

She saw lights ahead of her and her spirit lifted, she was close to freedom. Just as she thought her prayers were answered she felt a sharp pain strike her in her back and she fell to the ground.

She heard branches snapping under heavy feet as she grabbed at dirt and leaves as she tried to make one last effort to crawl to safety. Her heart stopped as she felt her captors presence right behind her.

"Mary, Mary, Mary. Why did you make me do this? Do you know how much I love you? We were going to get married and have a family together."

"Please don't do this, just let me go. Please just let me go." Mary gasped out between sobs as she pleaded for her life.

Mary screamed as she felt him kneel down on her back and grab her hair.

"Don't worry Mary, I'm letting you go."

She heard the click of his gun and felt the pressure of the metal as he pressed it against the back of her head.

"I'll let you go right to God, because if I can't have you, no one will."

Mary's sobs were silenced as a gunshot echoed through the forest.

* * *

Edward folded his newspaper and sat down on the park bench. Today was a beautiful Saturday morning. Edward looked at his watch and read 6:28AM. He looked at the path in front of him. His girlfriend would be coming by soon.

He smiled his girlfriend was an amazing person. She was always so sweet and kind to people.

He remembered the first day he met her. She had been walking down the street and had accidentally bumped into him. Unlike most people she stopped and said sorry. He fell in love with her at first sight. The moment he made contact with her beautiful brown expressive eyes he fell in love.

Ever since then they had been together. They went to the mall together and the movies, they even went to her sons basketball games together. They hadn't been intimate yet but he knew her body was beautiful from when he saw her get dress or take a shower.

They were in love as in love could be. He finally saved up enough money to get her the ring and dress she wanted for their wedding.

Edward was brought out of his thoughts as his watch beeped and let him know that it was 6:30AM. He looked up and watched as he saw her jog around the bend.

She looked as beautiful as ever. She was wearing a sky blue running jacket and a pair of black and grey legging that hugged her figure perfectly. Her thick black hair was tied in a pony tail. He admired the way her cheeks flushed against her flawless brown skin. Edward watched as she was lost in her own world as she listened to her music.

He smiled at her as she got closer and she gave him a polite smile back and continued on her jog.

Edward got up and threw his newspaper away and headed home. A smile spread across his face as he thought about his new girlfriend, she was going to be much better than his last whore of a wife Mary.

Joss slowed her jog to a complete stop and reached down into her jacket pocket and retrieved her phone that was going off.

"Carter"

"Hey partner we got a body." Fusco stated over the phone

"Alright, I'll meet you at the scene, send me the location."Joss replied as she put her phone back in her pocket.

Joss sighed, so much for her routine morning run. She turned back around and made her way back to her car.


	2. Chapter 2

** II. Yours Truly **

Joss pulled her car up to the circle of police cars and the Medical examiners van.

Once she was parked she reached into her glove box and grabbed her badge and side arm and got out of the car. She secured her badge around her neck and her gun at her waist, shut the car door and made her way over to the yellow crime scene tape. Joss flashed her badge to the uniform officer and made her way down the embankment.

She made note of the surrounding area. The entire area was surrounded by woodlands, the location was at least 35 miles from the nearest roadway.

As she made her way down the embankment she saw Fusco looking overly frustrated and glaring. Once she followed his line of sight and saw the medical examiner she understood.

Dr. Cooper had a strict set of rules when it came to her job, unfortunately those rules irritated most detectives. As soon as she walked up to the scene Cooper was the first to notice her. Joss watched as Cooper stood up and put her hands on her hips while glaring at Fusco.

"Detective Carter can you please explain to your colleague that I don't work in speculative theories"

Fusco dropped his hands to his side. "Speculative theories? I just want you to give me an educated guess as to the cause of death."

Joss let out a laugh and touched Fuscos shoulder and shook her head.

"Dr. Cooper, what are the facts, so far?" Joss questioned

Joss watched as Cooper crouched back down next to the body.

"Based on the rate of decomposition and the surrounding environment the body has been in this location for 8 to 12 months. Once I exam the bones further I might be able to narrow the time window."

"And the victim "Joss asked

"Based and the shape and width of the pelvic bone as well as the construct of the cheekbones and nasal passage, I can conclude the victim was a Hispanic female between the ages of 38 and 40 with an approximate height of 5 feet, I get her back to the lab I'll be able to properly look at the bones."

Cooper stood up and began snapping her gloves off while glaring at Fusco.

"And then I will be able to properly identify the cause of death."

Joss watched as she walked back up the embankment.

"You see this is why I don't ever go to autopsy, she's freaking crazy"

Joss smiled and shook her head.

"Not crazy Fusco, she just values the integrity of her job. So you want to tell me how we caught a case so far out of our jurisdiction."

"Yeah, a couple of hikers came across the body sticking out of the drain pipe. Once the locals were on scene, they determined her body drifted down the pipe. This particular drain pipe only has two openings and they are back in Manhattan. They figured the girl came from our neck of the woods.

"Did CSU find anything at the openings." Joss replied

"Yeah they determined that one of the openings was pried open, but they didn't find any DNA or evidence."

Joss looked down at the partially decomposed skeletal remains of their Jane Doe. Poor woman, someone had to be missing her.

"Alright Fusco, let's get back to the precinct and start combing through missing persons reports that fit her description from the area around the dump site"

* * *

"Can't we just shoot him now, we already know he's the bad guy."

"Ms. Shaw please refrain from harming Mr. Saint until he's in the process of committing his crime."Harold replied.

Shaw let out a sigh and stated strumming her fingers on the dash board

"At least you haven't been sitting in the car for the past 4 hours with her Finch."John stated

"Indeed Mr. Reese. Ms. Shaw if you don't mind me inquiring, you seem to be in more of a hurry than usually to wreak havoc."

"We have plans tonight" Shaw replied

"We?"John and Harold both replied simultaneously.

"Carter and I .First we're going to the gun range to unload some clips and then I'm dragging her to the bar to get some."

"Some what?" Harold asked puzzled

Shaw smiled "Some dick that doesn't run on batteries"

Shaw almost laughed when she heard Harold choke on the tea he was probably drinking.

"How very crude Ms. Shaw" Harold stated while clearing his throat.

"What? She needs some stress release." Shaw stated as she lifted up a pair of binoculars to spy on the drug dealer.

"And besides it's not like her 'Just Friend' is going to get off his ass and do something about it."

A smile spread across Shaw's face as she saw from the corner of her eyes, John's frown deepen as he gripped the steering wheel harder.

* * *

As she entered the precinct Joss slowed her walk to a confused trout and looked around. Everyone was looking at her smiling, especially the females.

As she rounded the corner she found out why as she stared at her desk in disbelief.

"What the hell? Fusco who put that on my desk?"

"I don't know Carter, it was there when I got here."

Joss put her hands on her hips as she stared at the vase full of roses and the huge box of chocolates. Her thoughts were interrupted when Fusco walked up beside her.

"Well you got to give the man some credit. That has to be like 5 or 6 dozen roses there. Who are they from?"

"How the hell should I know, the last time someone left flowers on my desk it was for my own funeral"

Joss watched as Fusco grabbed the card that was on top of the box of chocolates. She watched as he let out a laugh as he read the card.

"Oh man Carter, this dude has it bad for you, listen to this. _'My dearest Jocelyn, no amount of words can express the burning passion I hold for you deep in my heart. My soul yearns for you like no other. From the moment we met and I gazed into your beautiful eyes I knew we were destined to be together for all eternity.-from yours truly'_."

Joss stared at Fusco."That's freaking creepy."

Fusco dropped the card back onto her desk

"That's sad, Casanova better back off before wonder boy finds out."

Joss knitted her eyebrows at Fusco

"What's John have to do with anything?"

"Well first off he goes ballistic whenever anyone looks at you sideways, second you remember when that wanna -be thug coped a feel on you, my boy in the gang unit said they found him beat up and tied to a flag pole."

Joss rolled her eyes "Whatever Fusco"

Fusco threw his hands up and moved back to his desk.

"Fine don't listen to the powers of the Fusco, but I'm telling you, Mr. Happy has a thing for you."

Joss picked up the flowers and chocolates and threw them in the trash and grabbed half the stack of missing person's files from her desk. She walked over to Fusco and set them on his desk.

"Alright almighty Fusco, use your powers to help me find our Jane Doe.

* * *

Edward unlocked the door to his apartment and made his way inside and shut the door

"Artemis come her girl, I have something to show you."

As he heard the padding of paws he crouched down as an albino white husky came down the hallway. He petted and scratched her behind the ears and made her sit. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box and revealed a wedding ring.

"What do you think girl, it's for your new mommy, isn't it beautiful?"

After he feed Artemis, Edward made his way to his bedroom to undress and take a shower. After he was done he wrapped a towel around his waist and sat on his bed.

He smiled as he looked at the pictures that covered the walls of his room from floor to ceiling. They were all pictures of the times he and Joss spent together before they became a serious couple.

After staring at their pictures Edward laid down and slipped his hand under his pillow and pulled out a white scarf. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and inhaled her scent. As her scent traveled from his head to his toes his whole body began to burn with passion.

He sat up and grabbed the remote from his night stand and turned on the screen that was in his room. As he looked at the monitor and observed the still empty house, she wasn't home yet. So he sat back in his bed and stared at her empty bedroom as he waited for her to get home.


	3. Chapter 3

**III. G.N.O**

Shaw kicked her shoes off and relaxed on Carters bed and waited for her to finish showering. After Carter got off of work they met up at Finch's recently privately acquired firing range. They had each brought their own guns to fire.

A devilish grin spread across her face when she saw Joss's selection of firepower. She always figured Carter for a lover of hand guns.

Carter had brought a Barrett M82 and M98.A small chuckle escaped her lips she wondered if John knew about her not so legal stash of big and long firearms.

After spending 2 hours at the range they both decided to meet at her place and then head out. Unfortunately Joss got delayed on getting ready because she had to drop her kid off at his Fathers and got stuck in traffic getting back to her place.

Shaw looked at the clock on the nightstand it was only 9:30PM they had plenty of time. Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Joss come out of the bathroom.

"You're joking" Shaw stated with a frown as she looked at Joss's outfit.

"What?" Joss asked puzzled

"You're not wearing that."

Joss looked down at her dress top and black slacks "What's wrong with it, I thought it looked nice."

"We're going to a club Carter, not a PTA meeting" Shaw stated as she got up from the bed and made a bee line to Joss's closet and shifted through the hangers to find some club appropriate attire.

"I know you are use to dressing a certain way because of your job, but when it's time to show some skin, it's time to show some skin."

Then her eyes saw a dress crammed in the back of the closet and it looked like it had never been worn. Shaw reached in and grabbed the sleeveless sweet heart neckline little black dress with gun metal borders around the bust and waist line.

"Put this on, we're leaving for Club Inferno in 10 minutes" Shaw said as she shoved the dress in Carters arms and turned her around and pushed her toward the bathroom.

* * *

Edward seethed with anger as he watched as some hussy force his girlfriend into an inappropriately short dress. Edward hastily got dressed and grabbed his phone and located club Inferno and stormed out of his apartment.

* * *

John had been in the library cleaning and re assembling his gun for the past 3 hours. He still couldn't believe that Shaw was dragging Joss to a night club to pick up men.

The whole idea had to have been Shaw's. Joss wasn't the type of woman to put on a skin tight dress and go hit on men. She had better things to do with her time.

She didn't need drunken men hitting on her in a crowded room. John clenched his hands on his gun and the cleaning rang and began vigorously scrubbing his gun as he thought of some random drunk man putting his hand where it didn't belong.

Harold shook his head as he watched John clean his gun for the twenty third time. Harold had no misgivings as to Johns feeling for Detective Carter.

The man had practically thrown a hissy fit and broke his phone and ear piece when he listened in on Jocelyn while she was on her date with Detective Beecher.

Although he did find it amusing when they had overheard Beecher telling Joss about how he got shot in the shoulder, John had instantly scoffed saying that he'd been shot and stabbed multiple times.

Harold sighed as he looked at John as he began the process of reassembling and cleaning his gun again.

"Mr. Reese, if you are so agitated at the idea of Detective Carter going to a club to seek male company why don't you go and resolve the situation."

"I'm not agitated, what Joss does in her spare time and who she spends it with is her own business."

"Funny, you didn't seem to have a problem invading her business when Detective Beecher was involved."

"That was different"

"Oh, how so?" Harold questioned

"Beecher was a cocky prick who cost her a job with the FBI."

"Really, that's interesting considering how upset you were when you found out about the FBI's offer in the first place."

Harold watched as John pursed his lips and glared at him. Harold held his hands up in mock surrender.

"I'm simply trying to make a point John."

"And which point would that be Harold."

"That Jocelyn Carter is a woman, a beautiful woman and has every right to feel like one and since you have not expressed your feelings to her, she has no obligation to put herself on the back burner and wait for you, especially when you yourself keep occasional company with another woman."

Harold watched as John closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Having made his point Harold turned back around and faced his computer.

After a few moments Harold herd John get up and start to leave the library.

"By the way Mr. Reese I suggest you change your shirt and take out a few thousand dollars, unfortunately as a man, just looking nice isn't going to get you into Club Inferno."

A smile spread across Harold's face as he herd John grunt.

* * *

Joss looked down at the Appletini that was placed in front of her and Shaw. The bartender nodded to the middle aged men at the corner of the bar. Her and Shaw smiled and picked up their drinks. A grin made its way to her face this was her and Shaw's, 5th free drink.

Inferno was a nice club for 21 and up. Though due to the prices most of the people here were in their 30's or older.

The club was true to its name. The lay out was centered around an open atrium, that served as the dance floor, lining the walls were booths. But what she liked most about the club was that it had a dim fiery red-orange lighting and the song selections by the DJ were good too it ranged from rap to techno.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Shaw whispered in her ear.

"Told you the dress would pay off, we got two good looking bogies heading our way."

Just as Shaw pulled away from her ear two male voices grabbed her attention and they both turned around. As soon as she turned around she realized Shaw wasn't kidding about good looking.

Standing in front of them were two real good looking men. One was slightly taller than the other, they both had on dress pants and un-tucked dress shirts. The tall one had semi long dirty blonde hair and was a little scrawny and other was a brunette with a short buzz cut and was pretty buff.

"Evening ladies, my name is Mike" Joss watched as the dirty blonde introduced himself as he looked her dead in the eye and gave her a mega watt smile.

Then he gestured to his friend "and this is my friend James."

Her and Shaw glanced at each other and smiled.

"We were wondering if we could by you beautiful ladies a drink" Mike asked

After some small polite talk and a drink, James asked Shaw to dance and Mike did the same with her.

* * *

John made his way into the club after having to give the bouncer 1000 dollars to get in immediately. As he made his way to the bar to he was relieved to find men his own age and older in the club, but judging from the looks he was getting from the women his age defiantly didn't matter.

He moved to the end corner of the bar and ordered a glass of Whiskey and sipped it as he scanned the club looking for Joss. He observed as people sat and stood around the club mingling. He watched as some of the bartenders walked around carrying trays filled with shots or bottles of alcohol.

He was distracted when heard a female voice in front of him. He looked down and stared at a short red head who couldn't have been older than 23.

"Hello handsome. How are you?" She asked

"Umm…I'm fine?" John replied feeling uncomfortable. He watched as she looked him up and down and bit her lip before she looked back into his eyes.

"You most certainly are. My name's Carmen"

John tied to suppress a laugh. He needed to let the girl down easy.

"Look, you seem like a really nice girl…" His sentence was cut off when she stumbled closer to him and moved her hand up his chest. On reflex he grabbed her hand and pulled it away.

"Like I was saying, you seem like a really nice girl but I think I'm a little too old for you. I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to be your father."

"Oh, really. So if I call you daddy, will you spank me?"

John just stood there floored; he honestly didn't know what to say to that, he never had a woman ever say something that disturbing to him.

Thankfully they were disrupted by two other girls.

"Oh my God, Carmen, what the hell are you doing?"

John looked up and saw two girls both blonde looking at their clearly drunk and disturbed friend. Both girls grabbed the red head and apologized on her behalf and dragged their drunken girlfriend to the exit of the club.

John shook his head and tossed back the rest of his drink. His reprieve was short lived when he looked up and saw three older women smiling and staring at him like his a piece of meat.

* * *

After seeing Shaws' miserable face as James talked her ear off Joss had excused them to the restroom as a way to ditch them. Once they decided it was safe, they made their way back towards the bar and they both stopped and watched as they saw John getting hit on by a very drunk girl.

The both smiled at how awkward John looked, it looked like he was contemplating jumping over the bar to get away from the girl.

Her and Shaw moved closer and watched the fiasco untangled. They both smiled as John tried to politely turn the girl down. Then they both sported a mirrored look of disgust as the girl asked if she could call John daddy and if he would spank her.

Thankfully the girls friends came and got her, unfortunately the girls actions brought unwanted attention, as soon as the girl was gone three older women looked like they were about to pounce on John and tear him limb from limb.

"Are you going to save him or should I?"Shaw asked as she leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Yeah I'll go save him and as payment I think he will owe me a dance."

Shaw smiled and cracked her knuckles "I'll flank the two on the left"

John honestly felt like he was in a life or death situation .

His eyes scanned the club looking for the fastest way to advert the situation as the three women starting making their way towards him. If he was going to escape he was going to have to act fast. Just as he was going to make a move toward the dance floor he saw Shaw cross in front of him and block of the two women coming from his left.

When he turned back to his right he watched as Joss cut the other woman off and exchanged some words with her .She watched as the other woman held her hands up and walked away.

John was at a loss for words as Joss turned around and made her way over to him. Her hair was up in a clip and her dress was tight and short. Her legs were exposed. It didn't make any sense, Joss was short, but her legs looked like they went on forever.

Maybe this was one of his dreams. He closed his eyes then opened them again and when he did he was staring down at her as she smiled at him.

"So John I think you owe me a dance for saving your ass."

Joss almost started laughing as she watched him try to collect himself. She watched as his eyes keep traveling to her cleavage she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand and pulled him to the dance floor.

Once she found a spot on the dance floor she rested her forearms on John's shoulders and he hesitantly grabbed her hips.

"So John do you come here often?

"No, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would stop and get a drink."

John couldn't control the grin on his face as she smiled and shook her head. He leaned down and whispered in her ear

"But on a serious note Joss thank you. I thought they were going to eat me alive."

Joss let out a full laugh

"That's kind of sad John, out matched by some cougars and a college co-ed"

"Go ahead Joss laugh it up."

After she finished laughing she enjoyed their slow sway to the music.

As she looked into his eyes she saw that look again. It was the same look he had in his eyes when they where in his car talking about moving on. It felt like he wanted to tell her something. She wanted to believe that there was something more underneath all their flirting and banter.

She felt him encircle her waist and pull her closer.

"Joss…I…"

Before he could finish the music stopped and the lights went out.

Joss yelped and gripped John's forearms as she felt someone grab hard at the back of her neck and hair and yanked her backwards.

John herd Joss yelp as he felt her being pulled backward. Although his eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark, on reflex John tightened his hold on her and kicked his leg out in front of him, although he couldn't fully see he felt his foot connect with someone. As soon as it happened he pulled Joss closer and cradled her head to his chest.

After a few minutes the emergency lights came on. As soon as he could see he grabbed Joss's face and examined her. She was holding the back of her neck and her hair was down and disheveled.

"Joss are you okay?"

"Yeah I think someone accidentally grabbed my hair."

John looked up and watched as people stood still wondering what was going looked down behind Joss and saw her hair clip crushed on the floor. He looked around to see if anyone was clutching their leg. It may have been dark but he defiantly kicked someone.

They both listened as the club expressed that they were closing due to electrical issues. He moved behind Joss and moved her toward the exit.

Once they were outside he started to feel less paranoid. He looked down at Joss she seemed okay. Maybe it was just an accident.

"Hey John do you mind giving me a ride home?" Joss asked

A smile spread across his face.

"What happened to girl's night out?"

She smiled and held her phone up

"Shaw was my ride and according to her text she's going to be preoccupied for the rest of the night"

He smiled and put his hand on her lower back and they walked across the street to the parking lot and got in his car.

* * *

John pulled up to her house and got out and opened her door.

"Such a gentleman" She smiled

"Always" John replied proudly

He walked her to her front door and held the door open as she went inside. He watched as she leaned against the door frame

"Thank you for the ride John."

"You don't ever have to thank me for anything Joss"

"Goodnight, John"

"Goodnight, Joss"

Joss watched as John walked down her front steps and was about to get in his car.

"Oh and by the way"

Joss watched as he turned around.

"I like the shirt John, purple looks good on you"

She smiled as he blushed and smiled back and then she shut her front door.


	4. Chapter 4

**IV. Slight Reprieve**

Edward's anger grew as he recounted the events of the night

He was furious, he watched as man after man bought his fiancé drinks, then he watched as two wannabe frat looking boys asked Joss and her whore of a friend to dance. But that wasn't what made him the angriest some pretty boy was holding his woman touching her like she belonged to him; he was absolutely disgusted as the man looked at the way the man looked at her.

He was standing right behind both of them as he watched as the man pulled his Joss closer.

Enough was enough.

This was going to end, how dare this corrupt establishment try and lure his fiancé away from him. Edward pushed the button on the remote in his pocket and short circuited the building main power.

Once the lights were out, admits the panic and the mutterings Edward moved forward and yanked backwards on Joss's neck to pull her away from the man.

As soon as she yelped he felt a splitting pain in his leg which caused him to fall back. He was going to turn around and try again but the emergency lights came on and the crowd of people obscured his vision.

By the time he was out of the club he saw Joss walking away with the man towards the parking lot.

Edward limped into his apartment and slammed the door as he made his way into the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. It was okay because soon he and Joss were going to move away together where no one was going to bother them.

When Edward turned around he saw Artemis looking at him his anger got the better of him and he kicked her. He watched as she yelped and shuffled into the corner. Then he made his way to his bedroom and shut the door.

* * *

Joss moved about the kitchen making breakfast, she was in a good mood she woke up on the right side of the bed today. Although she hadn't planned on running into John at the club she was glad she did.

He certainly looked really good in his dark purple shirt. She put the eggs in the skillet as she stared off into space wondering what other colors he would look good in.

Taylor came downstairs and headed into the kitchen to get some breakfast before school. He stopped in his tracks as he watched as his Mom was staring off into space.

Taylor approached her with caution and raised his eyebrow as he saw what she was cooking

"Uhm…Mom, you feeling okay."

When he didn't get a response he raised his voice and waved his hand in front of her face.

"Earth to Mother…can you read me."

Joss was brought of her day dream as she saw Taylor waving his hand in her face.

"Taylor…stop waving your hand in my face"

"Sorry Mom I was just trying to get your attention you were staring off into space."

"Was not" Joss turned around and pulled the orange juice out of the fridge

"Oh really then how do you explain this" Taylor replied while laughing

Joss raised her head from the refrigerator and looked at what Taylor was referring too. As soon as she saw it she closed her eyes trying to hide her embarrassment.

Taylor looked at the skillet filled with eggs, four whole eggs and picked one up and smiled back at his mother.

"I know I don't know how to cook very well Mom, but I'm pretty sure you're suppose to crack the eggs first before you put them in the skillet."

Joss closed the fridge and moved back over to Taylor and took the eggs out of the skillet and cracked them.

"Ha Ha Ha, do you want anything before you go to school". She watched as Taylor held his hands up and backed out of the kitchen.

"I'm good Mom I'll get something cooked at school. I don't want you to over exert yourself if you're hung-over from your girls night."

Joss raised her spatula "Boy, get your behind out of here before you're late for school"

She shook her head as she heard Taylor laughing as he left the house.

* * *

Doctor Cooper pulled out the autopsy table with a full skeleton on it. She put on a new pair of latex gloves and turned her attention back to Detective Carter and Fusco and handed Carter her autopsy report.

"After cleaning her bones I was able to take a dental impression and identified the Jane Doe as a Mary Hernandez age 38. The missing persons file that came up with her dental match says she was reported missing 1 year ago."

"Unfortunately I couldn't drawn any conclusive data from the remains of her cloths, upon recovery we located two .22 slugs, one located in her back imbibed in her spine, the other slug was located at the base of her skull. I was able to conclude that based off the scaring on the remains of her lung tissue that her official cause of death was asphyxia from drowning."

"Drowning?." Fusco stated

"Yes, those drain pipes carry tonnes of water constantly out of the city, the perpetrator more than likely thought that the bullet to the back of her head had killed her but it only served to incapacitate and paralyze her. For the scaring on her lungs to have occurred she had to have been breathing in water. But due to her injuries she more than likely couldn't move or try to keep her head above water." Dr. Cooper replied

As Joss listened to the autopsy findings her heart sank to her feet. This poor woman had suffered an agonizing and painfully slow and horrible death. She couldn't even imagine what the woman's last few seconds of life had been like.

"Also she seems to have suffered fractures to her ribs and wrists pre mortem. Judging by how they were healed over they happened sometime within a 6-8 month period before her death." Dr. Cooper stated

"Are you telling me this creep kidnapped a woman beat her up, while he held her hostage and then killed her." Fusco asked

"Detective what did I tell you about speculative theories. I'm a medical examiner all I know are the facts of how and when she died. It's your job to find out why and under what circumstance."

When Joss saw Fusco's feathers rising up she intervened.

Joss nodded and thanked the Cooper as she and Fusco went back to the precinct to notify Mary's next of kin.

* * *

John stood up as he finished tying up the last of the gang members and took out his phone and dialed Fusco

"You do realize I have a day job right. I don't have time to cater to all of your needs?"

John smiled at Fusco's irritated voice

"Awe Lionel you make me sound needy" John replied sarcastically

"That's because you are, and your needs always end up with me getting shot at." Fusco stated

"No shooting this time I just need you to make sure a bunch of tied up trash goes into the dumpster." John replied

"Whatever, just send me the address."

John smiled after Fusco hung up on him. He was about to call Joss but Finch buzzed in his ear.

"Yes Finch?"

"Mr. Reese we have another number, I believe that Mr. Tao still hasn't learned his lesson."

John let out a sigh and shook his head

"You know Finch I did tell Leon that I was going to be on vacation the next time he was in trouble."

John ended his call with Finch and headed to his car to go save Leon.

* * *

Joss escorted Mary's younger sister Isabelle out of the precinct after informing her that her sister was dead. She watched as Isabelle got into the taxi still wiping her red and puffy eyes with tissue.

She turned around and walked back into the station and saw Fusco getting some coffee and walked over to him.

"I just finished talking to Mary's sister she doesn't know much. All she knows is that her sister went to work one day and didn't make it home. The officers who handled the missing person's case did a half ass job. She told me that one of the cops on case said her sister was a NHI case."

Fusco shook his head "Those assholes, you know cops like that are the reason the NYPD has a bad reputation."

Joss nodded her head in agreement as they headed back to their desks. Joss looked at her watch it was almost 6 PM they would have to question Mary's friends and co workers later.

Joss stopped and looked at her desk seeing another gift on it. She hastily grabbed the package and tossed it in the trash without even looking at it.

"Was that from your creepy secret admirer?" Fusco asked

"Yeah, I thought I told the clerk at the front desk not to let any packages be delivered to my desk. I'll take care of it later." Joss stated absent mindlessly

"Maybe you should tell our mutual friends about it, maybe they can help" Fusco offered.

"I can take care of myself Fusco. I'm not some helpless damsel in distress. I'm not about to let cards and candy get under my skin. I'm heading home I'll see you the day after tomorrow."

Fusco watched as Carter grabbed her bag and jacket and left. As soon as she was gone he grabbed the package and the letter from the trash can.

He opened the small box and saw an expensive looking diamond necklace. He opened the card and read it. 'Dear Joss, I'm sorry that I got upset. It was that whore and bastards fault but don't worry, I still love you. Love, Ed'

Fusco pulled out his phone and dialed and waited for John to pick up.

John dodged a punch as he tapped his ear piece

"I'm a little busy at the moment"

"I'll wait its important" Fusco stated

John grunted as he blocked a punch to the face and head butted his attacker.

After 10 more minutes he finally took care of the last of the threats to Leon.

"While I'm on the phone with you Lionel, there's some unconscious money laundering male strippers on 5th avenue."

Fusco paused a moment as he thought about the what John just said. Then he shook his head.

"Please tell me there clothed."Fusco asked

"Mostly" John replied looking back at the unconscious men and as he marched Leon to his car.

"So what's so important Lionel?" John questioned

"Carter might have a problem?

John shoved Leon into his car.

"What kind of problem?"

Fusco took a deep breath and gripped his phone.

"Look I don't want you doing anything crazy or telling Carter I told you about this, because quite frankly she scares me more than you do…but I think Carter might have an obsessed fan"

Fusco couldn't control the chill that went down his spin as her herd John's voice on the other end.

"What?" John gritted through his teeth

"Uhm…she's been getting love notes and flowers, and candy from some guy who calls himself her secret admirer and today she got a diamond necklace with an apology note from a guy named Ed. It may not be anything serious, but the letter crept me out."

John was trying to control his anger it made him livid that someone was potentially following Joss around watching her.

Trying to control his anger at Fusco for not telling him sooner about the situation he continued questioning him.

"What did the letter say?"

Fusco could see John seething on the other end of the phone as he read verbatim what the letter said.

After a few moments of silence Fusco decided to put his two cents in.

"Listen wonder boy, before you go all Jason Bourne and start tearing the city apart, you need to take a step back. You know how Carter is, she's almost as thick headed as you. So you can't just go busting into her place demanding answers and being an overbearing prick."

John closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Fusco was right. He first needed to establish who this guy was and if he was dangerous.

"Hey are you listening?"Fusco questioned

"Yes Fusco"

"Like I was saying get the facts straight and find out who the guy is before go all cave man on her."Fusco stated

"Fine, I'll look into it. Where's Joss now?"

"She went home; she has the day off tomorrow I'll let you know if she gets anymore packages on her desk." Fusco replied

John disconnected the call with Fusco and tapped his ear piece.

"Finch did you hear that?"

"Yes Mr. Reese I did. I have been going through the video feeds at the police station. It seems each delivery so far has come through normal distribution channels. The next time the detective receives a package I will inform Detective Fusco to make sure the routing number is cataloged. That way I can track where it was sent from and by whom."

John tried to control the urge he had to go rushing over to Joss's home and take her to a safe house but Fusco was right. If he became overbearing she would block him out.

"Perhaps you should go offer your assistance to Jocelyn tomorrow morning Mr. Reese. She might be in need of some help while she repaints her living room."

John raised his eyebrow.

"How would you know that Finch?"

Harold smiled as he sat at his computer going over files.

"Because Mr. Reese, Jocelyn and I went shopping for paint and new drapes."

"I didn't know you hung out with Carter?"John replied with a smirk

"Yes I do, she and I had a wonderful time picking out paint samples and I marvel at her love of classic literature and poetry. Also Jocelyn is a wonderful baker, but you already know that Mr. Reese."

"Now how would I know how her baking tastes Harold?" John questioned

"Because last week you scarf down the last of the cupcakes she made… for me." Harold replied as he narrowed his eyes.

John licked his lips as he remembered the 8 chocolate cupcakes he ate. A smile spread across his face as wondered what he had to do to get Joss to bake for him.

John grinned "What can I say Harold I like chocolate."

"What terribly cliché double entendre Mr. Reese." Harold stated as he rolled his eyes

John let out a half laugh as he disconnected his call with Finch and got into his car. Time to drop Leon off at the nearest bus station then he needed to go home and figure out what to wear tomorrow morning.

* * *

**AN: NHI (No Human(s) Involved) is a a dehumanizing police term used to describe or reference crimes committed against such people as prostitutes, drug addicts,minorities, sex offenders and transients**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I would like to make a personal shout-out to my Beta wolfmusic218 for helping me correct my grammar and spelling. :D**

* * *

**V. Interruptus**

Joss moved about the kitchen tidying up as Taylor finished his breakfast. Once she was done, she moved over to the kitchen table and kissed Taylor on the forehead.

"Mom, stop! I'm not a baby," Taylor whined, as he wiped his forehead.

"No matter how grown you get, you'll always be my baby. Now, finish your breakfast and wash that dish; you're going to be late for school." Joss replied, as she moved back into the kitchen to put her apron away and then headed into the living room.

Taylor finished his breakfast, washed his dish, then grabbed his book bag and made his way to the front door

"Hey Mom, I'm leaving. Is it cool if I go to Ronnie's after school?" Taylor questioned, as he saw his mom hovering in the living room.

Joss turned around and narrowed her eyes at Taylor. "As long as you finish your homework before you two start goofing off…and your butt better be back here by 7:00PM."

Taylor smiled. "Okay Mom, see you tonight."

After Taylor left, Joss sighed as she turned back around and looked at her painting supplies. It had been awhile since she'd last painted and she'd overestimated what she still had. She was going to have to go to the store and buy a new paint brush and roller brush as well as some more painter tape.

Joss grabbed her purse and made her way to the front door, opened it, and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw who was waiting on the other side.

"Hello Detective, what a pleasant surprise."

Joss rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "It certainly is a surprise John, considering you never use my front door when you stop by. If you're here for a number, you better call Fusco because I'm busy today."

"Of course not, I'm simply here to offer you a hand with your morning activities. I heard you might be in need some assistance painting," John replied with a grin.

Joss clicked her tongue as she looked at John grinning, of course Finch would tell him she was repainting.

As she was thinking, she took in John's appearance; she never seen him in such casual clothing before. If she was honest with herself, she wouldn't have believed he even owned sweatpants and sneakers, but sure enough, here he was, standing on her stoop in a pair of black basketball sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

Joss tore her eyes from him and looked back into her living room. She could use some help; she still had to cover and move the furniture.

"Okay John, you can help," She stated as she moved outside and turned around to lock her door.

John smiled as she consented to letting him help.

While she was locking her door, he couldn't stop his pure male reflexes from giving her figure a once over. It was rare that he ever saw her outside of work and he appreciated seeing her dressed casually. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she was wearing a plain dark blue women's t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants.

John tore his eyes from her backside, turned around and walked down the stairs, suddenly glad she wore pant suits instead of skirts. It was bad enough that he still fantasized about her in the dress she wore to the club; he didn't think he could handle it if she wore tight skirts every day.

John was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Before we start, I need to go to the hardware store down the street and get a few things."

"Lead the way, Carter" John replied, as he followed her down the street.

* * *

Shaw kicked the piece-of-shit man in the groin one last time before she told his wife to call the police, then she turned on her heels and left the house.

"Ms. Shaw, has the threat to Mrs. Lucas been handled?"

"Yep, I can safely say he won't be putting his hands on his wife again, or at least not until his broken hands heal. Hope she's not dumb enough to stay with him," Shaw replied.

Harold sighed. "_At least she didn't shoot or kill the man_," he thought.

"So, where's Reese? He usually gets his panties in a bunch around wife beaters," Shaw remarked.

"Mr. Reese is otherwise engaged with another task this morning."

Shaw smirked. "You mean engaged with Carter."

When Harold didn't respond, Shaw continued. "Good. I hope they deal with their tension because their 'goo goo eyes' are starting to annoy me"

"Goo goo eyes, Ms. Shaw?" Harold questioned

"Oh please Finch, you know what I'm talking about; the big bad wolf turns into a whipped puppy dog whenever he's around Carter."

"I wouldn't presume to know anything about Mr. Reese's and Detective Carter's personal lives," Finch replied half heartedly

Shaw snorted and rolled her eyes "Whatever Finch. I'm hungry; call me if there's another number."

* * *

John watched as Joss went up and down the paint aisle grabbing the items she needed.

"Okay, the only thing I need is wall tape. John, do you see any?"

John searched the aisles until he saw the tape. He tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the tape that was located on the second to last shelf ahead of them.

John slightly tilted his head as he watched Joss bend at the waist and sift through the tape.

When he felt like he was staring too long, he adverted his eyes by looking up. As soon as he looked up, he saw one of the young male store employees looking at him. He shook his head as the young man smiled at him and gave him thumbs up.

After a few more minutes, Joss finished getting all the things she needed and they left the store and headed back to her home.

As soon as they got back, John helped her move her furniture and tape up the base boards and lay the tarp down. Once everything was situated, she handed him the roller brush and a tray of light beige paint.

"Okay I'm going to start at the top near the crown moulding and you take the roller and paint down to the base board."

"Yes, ma'am," John stated. He watched her roll her eyes at him again as she turned around to climb the 5 foot ladder.

John got lost in his thoughts as he began to paint. It felt surreal to be doing something so normal. The last time he painted the walls of a house he was a little boy and he'd been helping his mother repaint his room.

If only he had made different choices in his life, he could be living a boring life in the suburbs painting his house with his own family. He could be sitting down with his own children, helping them learn their ABC's.

He often wondered how different his life would be now if he hadn't joined the CIA or the military. But then again, maybe the life he led now was where he was supposed to be. After all, he'd met Harold and he'd given him a purpose that allowed him to help people.

He looked over and glanced up as he watched Joss. His former life also helped him meet her. If he hadn't made the mistakes he'd made, he wouldn't have been there to save her the night Elias used her CI to try to take her life.

It had taken him a while to realize that he was slowly changing his habits little by little. He'd stopped taking kill shots unless he had, and he'd started feeling less gloomy and depressed. He realized that he was making the small changes because of Joss. He would linger around at the scene just so she could nag at him and every time he was around her he smiled.

At first, he had tried to make it seem like she was just his friend; that the only reason he didn't like Beecher was because he didn't want his friend to get hurt.

The truth hit him full force when he'd woken up in the middle of the night with a hard on due to the inappropriately wild and x-rated dream he'd had about Joss. Ever since then, everything he saw and felt about her had changed.

He now found himself wanting to be more than just her friend.

Sure, he could call Zoe if he wanted sex, but he didn't call Zoe to talk to her when he felt lonely, he didn't buy Zoe coffee in the morning, he didn't go to the diner at 8 o'clock at night and eat pie and talk about his day with Zoe. He did all those things with Joss.

If he was honest with himself he hadn't even had sex with anyone in almost three months just because he knew, deep down, that he could never be with the woman he truly wanted. Maybe it was for the best; he and Joss walked in two different worlds. He was a walking dead man with a target on his back.

John's grip on the brush tightened. If Joss got hurt or killed because of him, he would give up on everything. It pissed him off how close Snow had gotten to Joss, how close Kara had gotten to her. He could have lost her forever before he even realized what she meant to him.

John was too deep in his that he didn't realize how close he was standing to the ladder until he bumped into it. He heard Joss shout and then he felt a cool, thick liquid pour onto his head.

Joss dropped her brush and grabbed the tipped over can as fast as she could to steady it before she moved down the ladder.

John slowly slid the paint tray onto one of the steps of the ladder and turned around and looked at Joss.

Joss covered her mouth as she looked at John, watching as paint dripped off his head and onto his shoulders. She tried to control herself, but the laughter bubbled up in her chest and she couldn't stop it.

John wiped his eyes as he sputtered paint out of his mouth and watched as Joss doubled over in laughter and held onto her stomach. A small smile moved across his face as he listened to her laugh. It was such a sweet sound; he didn't want her to stop.

Joss took a deep breath. "Oh lord, John, go into the kitchen and use the sink to rinse off. I'll go get you a towel and a shirt."

John watched as Joss made her way upstairs; he could still hear her laughing. He turned around and made his way slowly into the kitchen towards the sink. He carefully removed his shirt and sat it on the counter next to the sink. Then he flicked the faucet on and bent his head under the water.

Joss hurried back downstairs with a t-shirt and towel and headed for the kitchen still smiling and chuckling. John's face was priceless; she should have taken a picture.

As she rounded the corner, Joss stopped in her tracks and as she witnessed a half naked John bent over her sink. Joss bit her lip as she trailed her eyes up his legs, stopping at his waist, as she took notice of the gray elastic band of his underwear sticking out above the waist band of his black sweat pants.

Joss cleared her throat and moved closer to him, standing off to the side, as she watched him struggle to reach the back of his head. She laid the shirt and towel down on the counter and knocked his hands out of the way. "Here let me help you before you make a bigger mess," Joss stated, as she grabbed the nozzle and got behind his ears and the back of his neck

John closed his eyes. As he felt Joss lean over him, he almost moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair. She was so close to him, he could smell her lotion; she smelled like lavender. It was a soothing scent and made him want to curl up with her and take a nap.

John's daydream was interrupted when she turned the faucet off and draped the towel over his head. He quickly dried his head off and grabbed the clean shirt on the counter. As he held it up in front of himself, he noticed how big it was. He raised his eyebrow at her and wondered who it belonged to.

"Don't look at me like that. It's one of Taylor's old shirts. What can I say, he goes through more fashion phases than a model, last year he went though a 90s' rap gangster phase, where all he wore where baggy pants and even baggier shirts." Joss stated, as she crossed her arms

John chuckled and removed the towel from his shoulders and placed it on the counter. He looked back up as he heard her gasp and closed his eyes, realizing what she was looking at.

Joss dropped her hands to her side as she took in John's chest. He had so many scars from knife slashes to stabbings to bullet wounds. Her eyes lingered on the two bullet holes on his lower stomach. Her heart sank as she remembered getting him shot by Snow and Evans.

"John…I'm so sorry…had I know what they were going to do…"

John opened his eyes as he heard her apologize, and he quickly put the shirt on so she wouldn't have to look at his scars.

"Joss, you don't need to apologize; I don't blame you. Snow deceived you."

"Still doesn't mean that it didn't hurt. You saved my life and I almost ended yours."

John watched as she teared up and held her side.

"When I was lying on the ground after Bottlecap shot me, it brought up old memories that I thought I had buried."

John watched as she slowly lifted up the side of her shirt. As soon as he saw her side, it was his turn to be shocked. He had seen scars like hers before, he'd also seen the immediate aftermath of the cause of her injury.

"My therapist said that even after the wound heals, all it takes is another nerve- racking situation to bring all the memories and the pain back. When I was lying on the ground, it felt like I was back overseas lying in the sand. It happened so fast. One minute I was walking next to another solider the next I was on my back. Wasn't quite sure what happened until I looked down and saw the wound. Before I passed out, all I remembered thinking was that I was never going to get to tell Taylor I love him…never get to say goodbye properly… that I was going to die alone."

As soon as John saw the tear streaking down her cheek, he moved closer to her and gently cupped her cheek and wiped the tear away with his thumb.

"Joss, you're not alone…and you never will be…I swear on my life that I will be here for you."

John watched as she closed her eyes and brought her hand up to rest on his. As soon as she looked up at him and smiled, he couldn't control himself; he leaned in and kissed her.

Joss stood still in shock as John gently kissed her. Her thoughts were running a mile a second. John kissed her, he just kissed her.

John slowly moved back when his sense grabbed a hold of him. Once he realized what he'd done, he stepped back and tried to apologize.

"Joss..I'm sorr.."

Before he could finish, Joss flung her arms around him and kissed him back. John wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. He slowly ran his hands up her back and removed her hair tie and embedded his hands in her hair.

John slightly pulled away from her lips as he heard her house phone ringing.

"Your phone's ringing," John said with a grin.

"If it's important, they'll leave a message," Joss stated as she ignored the phone and kissed him again.

John smirked and ran his hand under the back of her shirt. Pressing her against the wall, he started nipping her neck and ignored the beep of the answering machine picking up.

Joss moaned at the softness of John's lips as she buried her hands in his hair. Her state of pure bliss was interrupted as she heard an angry voice shout her name.

John abruptly stopped what he was doing as soon as he heard the voice over the answering machine.

"Jocelyn! What the fuck do you think you're doing? I'm your fiancé! What the hell is he doing there? Haven't I been good to you? I've given you nice things! You belong to me! I thought I made it clear the other night at the club to stay the hell away from him and that little whore. I'm done playing games Jocelyn. I'm taking you away from this whole corrupt and vile city!"

John and Joss stared at the answering machine in silence after the message ended.

Joss stepped away from John and she touched the back of her neck as she remembered the unknown person who yanked her hair when the lights went out at the club.

John realized that the man on Joss's machine was the same man who had been sending her gifts and the same man who'd tried to pull her away from him at the club. John cursed himself; he should have known that it wasn't an accident.

He turned Joss back around to face him."Joss how many of those gifts has that secret admirer sent you? Fusco said you received two gifts at your desk. Have you received anything here yet? Have you been getting calls from this guy? Have you noticed anyone following you?"

Joss shook her head as John rattled off question after question. Then she got mad once she realized Fusco had told him about her secret admirer.

"I'm going to strangle Fusco when I see him." Joss stated through gritted teeth, her anger bubbling to the surface.

John narrowed his eyes at her "No, you're not; he did the right thing in telling me. In fact, you should have told me as soon as it started happening."

"First of all John, I can take care of myself you're not my keeper and I don't need you or Fusco babysitting me."

"Did you not just hear that message? This guy attacked you in the club; that means he's following you and probably watching…you"

Joss watched, confused as John trailed off and slowly looked around the kitchen. He moved closer to her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her closer to him.

"John, what are you doing?" Joss questioned at his strange behavior.

John glanced around the house one more time before he looked down at her and whispered.

"Joss, how'd he know I was here in the house with you?"


	6. Chapter 6

**VI. Friction**

It was rare for John to ever call him; it was even rarer for him to sound frantic. In fact, the last time Harold heard him sound so frantic was when Detective Carter's number came up. This time, John had contacted him and told him to bring the equipment he needed to find hidden cameras and recording devices and meet him at the Detective's house. After three hours of combing Jocelyn's home, Harold was confident that he'd found everything.

Harold slowly walked back into the kitchen carrying the last of the video cameras and sat it on the counter with the rest of the devices. " That makes 9 mini cameras, three of which have audio recording capabilities."

Harold watched as John's jaw clenched. "Where were they, Finch?"

Harold hesitated for a moment as he looked between John and Jocelyn as they glared at one another. "One camera in the kitchen, one in the living room, two along the hallway, one above the staircase, one in the upstairs hallway…and," Harold trailed off; what he was about to say was more than likely going to mortify Jocelyn and enrage John.

John cut his eyes towards Harold as he trailed off. "And?"

Harold sighed and continued, "And the last three devices, the ones with the audio recording capabilities, were located in Jocelyn's room. Two situated over her bed in the air vents and…one hidden above her shower."

Harold watched as Jocelyn ran her hands through her hair with a look of complete mortification on her face and John looked like he was ready to kill someone. Harold was brought out of his contemplation when he heard Jocelyn's voice.

"Can you trace them, Harold?" Joss asked, while she picked up and examined the camera.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing to trace Detective, these particular types of cameras don't require an internet signal; the footage is a live feed that gets recorded automatically onto a recordable device like a VHS tape. More than likely, the person who placed these devices here made sure that if they were ever found they couldn't be traced back to him. I could, perhaps, disassemble the devices and try and find a serial number and then try and track the shipment but it will take a considerable amount of time since he has removed the serial number of the actual final product."

"Joss pack some clothes; I'm taking you to a safe house," John stated.

Joss cocked her eyebrow at John. "I'm not going anywhere; this is my house."

John closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath before he replied. "And your house isn't safe."

Joss leaned on the counter. "The cameras are gone. Whoever the hell he is, if he's stupid enough to come back here, I'll shoot him."

John slammed his hand down on the counter. "The only person being stupid right now is you! You don't know who this man is or what he looks like. If he shows up, you'll be defenseless! You need protection; you can't do this by yourself!"

Harold watched as Joss dropped the camera on the counter, walked out of the kitchen, and headed upstairs. Harold pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at John. "Not a very wise choice of words, Mr. Reese."

John sighed, ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. "I realized that as soon as the words came out of my mouth, Finch. I just want her to protect her."

"Then I suggest you talk to her, tell her how you feel, and _then_ offer your help," Harold replied, as he packed up the devices.

"I just want her to let me help her. Whenever she hears the word 'help', she shuts me out," John stated.

"I know you mean well Mr. Reese, but some words of advice? I suggest you find a better way to articulate your offer. And it might help if you leave out the use of the words 'stupid' and 'defenseless'; no one likes to feel powerless and undermined, and as a woman I am sure Jocelyn has had her fair share of men telling her so."

* * *

Joss splashed water in her face over her bathroom sink and looked in the mirror as Johns words brought back memories that she wanted to forget.

_Joss jumped as Paul smashed a plate against the wall and bellowed at her. "Oh_,_ so you think you're just going to divorce me and take my son away? Please… you're a fucking beat cop; do think a judge is going to let you take care of Taylor by yourself on your salary? You still have loans you have to pay back because you just had to go to college since being my wife just wasn't good enough for you! I'll see you in court! You need my help and when you realize you can't do this by yourself, I'll be waiting for you when your stupid ass comes crawling back!" Joss watched as Paul stormed out of the house._

Joss shook the memory from her head as she dried her face. She didn't need anyone's protection; she could take care of herself. As she walked out of her bathroom, she stopped in her tracks as Bear appeared at her feet. She looked up and she saw Sam sitting on her bed.

"What are you doing here?" Joss questioned, as she scratched Bears ear.

"Heard Reese being a dick and I figured you'd put up less of a fight if I was here babysitting instead of him…and I bought this…figured you could use something to help put you to sleep," Shaw replied.

Joss looked up from Bear and smiled as she saw the descent sized bottle. Joss let out a sigh she could use a few drinks to calm her nerves and maybe a little liquor would help her get a little shut eye before she went to work in the morning.

* * *

Fusco sat deep in thought as he listened to the hum of the car as he and Carter drove in silence to follow another lead on the Hernandez case. As soon as Carter sat down at her desk this morning he knew Wonder boy spilled the beans about the stalker.

Fusco looked out of the corner of his eyes as he and Carter drove to the clothing retailer where Mary Hernandez worked before she disappeared.

"How long are you going to be angry at me Carter?" Fusco questioned, as they pulled into a parking space in front of the store.

"I'm not angry Fusco," Carter replied, as she got out of the car and shut the door.

Fusco sighed as he got out of the car and locked it. "The last woman who told me she wasn't angry with me slashed my tires, so pardon me if I don't believe you."

"Fusco, drop it."

Lionel sighed and followed Carter into the store. Once they talked to the store manager, they were informed that one of the employees named Jada was friends with the victim and she might be able to help them.

After thirty minutes, they were at Jada Howard's apartment knocking on her door. After a few more knocks, a disgruntled-looking woman opened the door.

"What the hell do ya'll want?" the woman asked rudely.

Joss held up her badge. "I'm Detective Carter and this is my partner, Detective Fusco. Are you Jada Howard? We'd like to ask you some questions?"

"I don't talk to pigs. If you want anything else, come back with a warrant." Jada sucked her teeth and slammed the door in their faces.

"Well, that went exactly as I thought it would," Fusco replied

Joss shook her head and knocked again. "Ms. Howard, please, we just want to ask you some questions about the disappearance of your co-worker Mary Hernandez.

When she didn't hear a reply Joss continued, "Mary was murdered and we are trying to catch the person responsible. If we don't have a new lead soon, her case will go cold."

After a few seconds, the door opened again and Jada let them into her apartment.

"Mary's dead? Are you sure?" Jada asked.

"Yes, her body was identified by dental impressions," Joss replied, as she watched Jada sit down on the arm rest of her couch.

"It's been so long since she disappeared; I knew she was dead," Jada trailed off.

"You're not surprised?" Fusco questioned.

Jada glared at Fusco. "When people from the projects disappear they always end up dead. Just yesterday, four little kids got shot and killed at the playground; it took five hours for the cops to respond…. So, no, I'm not surprised that Mary's dead. No one around here has the money to let the whole nation know that their loved one is missing. When Mary disappeared, our boss just brushed it off and hired someone else and said it wasn't his job to care about what happened to her."

"When was the last time you saw Mary?" Joss asked.

"I guess the night she disappeared; her sister called me and asked if I knew where she was since she didn't come home after work. We both had to close up the store that night and we walked to the subway together, but we took separate lines."

"Do you remember if she was acting oddly or if anyone was harassing her?" Fusco asked.

"Not really; she seemed normal, like always," Jada replied.

"Did she have a boyfriend or a male co-worker who may have been violent or aggressive with her?"Joss asked, as she watched Jada think.

"Mary didn't have a boyfriend and the only males who worked at the store back then were too stoned to fold jeans let alone assault someone."

"Can you think of anything out of the ordinary happening at the store or outside of it?" Joss asked.

"No, nothing I can…oh wait…there was this one creepy dude who would always come into the store."

"What do you mean creepy?" Fusco questioned.

"At first, he came into the store to buy something for his wife and Mary helped him pick out a dress. The only reason I remembered him was because he dressed like he came from the 50's also it looked like there was something off about him, plus I didn't believe anyone would willingly marry him unless he had money or something."

"Do you remember what this guy looked like?" Joss asked.

"Not really. He was just some tall lanky middle aged white guy, maybe brown or black short hair," Jada stated in an unsure voice.

"The weird thing about him was that he kept coming back to the store and talking with Mary. At first I told Mary he was a creep, but she just told me he was a nice guy who was having problems with his wife. Eventually he stopped coming by and things went back to normal. Other than that, I can't think of anything else," Jada replied.

Joss and Fusco exchanged looks.

Joss reached into her coat pocket and handed Jada her card. "Thank you for your help, Ms. Howard. If you think of anything else, please give me call."

Fusco and Joss made their way out of the building.

"So, what's our next move?" Fusco questioned.

"Let's talk to the sister again and see if the guy Jada was talking about ever overstepped his boundaries."

* * *

Shaw watched as John switched back and forth between pacing and hovering over Finch as he sifted through the spy cameras they took out of Carter's house. John had annoyed the hell out of her last night when he kept checking in with her every fifteen minutes to make sure Carter was still alive.

"You know, hovering isn't going to make Finch move any faster," Shaw stated.

John glared at Shaw and she snorted at him.

"Ms. Shaw is right Mr. Reese; it's going to take some time to track down these serial numbers. Also your hovering is quite…agitating. Perhaps you should try to apologize to Detective Carter," Harold stated.

John sat down at the table. "And say what Finch? She's mad at me."

"How about: I'm sorry for being a dick and calling you a useless moron," Shaw stated.

John turned and glared at Shaw. "I didn't call her useless or a moron."

"My bad, I meant defenseless and stupid. If you were my 'just friend', I would've already shot your dumb ass for calling me stupid," Shaw corrected herself.

John stood up and ignored Shaw as he left the library.

"Ms. Shaw, please try not to add accelerant to the fire," Harold stated.

"It's not my fault he's an idiot when it comes to women; besides he needs to get his head in the game before something bad happens."

Harold raised his eyebrow and looked at Sam. "You sound worried, Ms. Shaw"

"Yeah, I am. I can't imagine having to put up with you, Reese, and Fusco all by myself; there's only so much a woman can take," Shaw replied with a smirk as she got up and headed to the kitchen.

* * *

Joss hung up her desk phone after she left a message on Mary's sister's answering machine.

"No answer?" Fusco asked.

"No, she's probably at work. I left a message for her to call me back," Joss stated, as she started looking through Mary's file. She was disrupted as her cell phone started ringing. She looked at the blocked number and ignored it like she had the last five calls and went back to reading Mary's file.

Fusco watched as Carter ignored her phone for the sixth time today. Fusco shook his head; Mr. Happy must have really pissed her off. Fusco was brought out of his thoughts when his phone rang.

"What do you want?" Fusco asked.

"Lionel, tell Joss to quite ignoring my calls."

Fusco shook his head as he heard John on the other end. "No can do pal, I ain't getting into any more trouble."

"Lionel," John growled through clenched teeth.

Fusco sighed and looked up at Carter and held his phone out to her. "It's for you."

He watched as Carter stood up and grabbed her files and walked into an empty interrogation room.

"Sorry, no can do, she's otherwise occupied with ignoring you. What the hell did you do? I've never seen her so pissed off at you before," Fusco stated

"I mis-spoke," John replied.

Fusco leaned back in his chair and smiled. "What did you say?"

After a few seconds of pause, John told him what he said.

Fusco dropped his glasses on his desk and shook his head. "You screwed up royally."

John rolled his eyes. "Thank you for clarifying that for me."

"Hey, don't cop an attitude with me. That's guy code 101; never tell a woman she's stupid or helpless. Don't you know about the translation rules?"

John raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

Fusco shook his head. "It's the language of women. You said she was making a stupid decision and needs help, what she heard was '_he thinks I'm a moron who's incapable of taking care of myself because I'm a woman and can't do anything but cook, clean and have babies_' "

John looked at his phone in horrified confusion. "I'm lost; I didn't even say any of that. She can't possible think I meant that."

Fusco snorted. "Are you one of those guys who believe that when a woman says she's fine and not angry, that she's actually fine and not angry? Shit pal, you're on your own; I ain't about to play marriage counselor for you two."

John stared at his phone after Fusco hung up on him. The last time he was this confused, he was trying to understand the slang that Darren McGrady was saying to him.

* * *

Edward sat in their new bedroom as he carefully filled three small glass vials with a cocktail mixture of Neuromuscular-blocking drugs that would incapacitate and paralyze. After attaching the vials to needles, he carefully reassembled the EpiPen auto-injector.

Edward moved back to his work table and grabbed his homemade shock collar. He wasn't going to let Joss escape like Mary did. He had adjusted the device so he could control the amps just in case he needed to punish her or knock her unconscious.

He moved to the corner of the bedroom where the mannequin stood. Edward smiled as he touched Joss's wedding dress. They were going to be so happy together and no one was going to interfere, especially that man she called John.

Jocelyn belonged to him mind, body and soul and he wasn't going to let another man sully her. Edward sat down on their bed and picked up her scarf and sniffed it. They were going to be beautiful together.

A small smile spread across his face as he wondered what beautiful sounds she would make when they finally consummated their marriage. Edward composed himself, as he got up he grabbed his car keys, and headed back into the city.

His plan was set and he was ready to spend the rest of his life with Joss.


	7. Chapter 7

**VII. Ignition**

Edward looked down at the hardware supplies he'd purchased after seeing that bastard hanging around outside of Joss's work. The man was determined to interfere with his relationship, and he'd decided he was going to remedy the situation. While he was buying his supplies, Joss's phone signal left the police station. When he tracked her phone's location, he found himself outside a café diner.

Edward watched as Joss talked with a woman and his heart ached; she looked so tired and exhausted. The faster he got her away from this city, the better. But before he collected Joss, he had some unfinished business to take care of.

He had warned the man to stay away from his woman and he hadn't listened; now he was going to get rid of him permanently. Edward's anger consumed him as he saw the man watching Joss. His initial plan had been to track the man's license plate and handle the situation tonight but as he watched the man look at Joss, he decided that he wasn't going to wait any longer. Edward moved down the street, ducked into an alley, and began to assemble the items he'd bought at the hardware store.

* * *

Joss stared down at the swirl of cream in her coffee as she sat in a booth at the back of Lyric Café waiting for her friend to meet her for lunch. After she gotten tired of looking through case files, she called her friend, Jasmine. She really needed someone to talk to.

She and Jasmine had been best friends since high school and had kept in touch with one another over the years, due to their careers they crossed paths quite often in the court house. As a high price prosecutor Jaz was constantly in court putting away criminals, so of which she and Fusco had personally arrested. Joss rubbed her eyes; she was tired, she could barely sleep at night due to all the nightmares. Although she didn't let it show, her stalker had affected her more than she would like to admit to anyone, including herself.

"Well, don't you look like shit?"

Joss smiled and looked up from her coffee cup as soon as she heard Jaz's voice. She watched as Jaz slid into the booth in front of her. "Thanks Jaz, you always know what to say to cheer me up."

"Well, I have been told that I have a way with words," Jaz sarcastically remarked as she opened her menu. "Have you ordered yet?"

"Yep, I ordered your favorite; BLT with extra bacon and pickles. It should be out in a few minutes," Joss replied with a smirk as Jaz closed her eyes and made a satisfied hum.

"So how's work going? Anything interesting happening in your life?" Joss asked, as she added sugar to her coffee.

"Not really. People are still breaking the same laws, the only things that have changed are the excuses they make up to justify their actions…..but my life is boring. Now, do you want to tell me what's really going on in your mind or I'm I going to have to guess?" Jaz asked.

Joss looked down at her cup and grabbed another packet of sugar and poured it into her coffee."Not much, nothing really interesting."

As soon as she looked up and saw the smile on Jaz's face, she knew she was busted.

"Wow, JoJo, even after almost thirty years, you still can't tell a lie to save your life. Now tell me what's wrong or I'm going to call your Mom," Jaz replied.

"Tattletale," Joss murmured under her breath.

Jaz pulled out her cell phone. "You have five seconds before I call her…five…four…three…two…."

"Okay! Fine, I'll tell you; stop threatening to call my mom!" Joss exclaimed as she sat back in her seat.

"I'm waiting."

Joss sighed, "I'm having trouble at work."

"What kind of trouble?" Jaz asked her demeanor turning serious.

"I have a… stalker," Joss blurted out.

Joss jumped slightly when Jaz slammed her phone onto the table and leaned forward menacingly.

"Joss, start talking…now," Jaz demanded in a firm tone.

Joss bowed her head and told Jaz about everything that was happening, from the gifts to the cameras and the voice message.

Jaz sat in silence as she took in what Joss just told her. Blind fury would be an understatement as to what she was feeling right now.

"Woman, I ought to beat the black off you. Since when did you start being so dim-witted? Why would you try to ignore this and pretend like it wasn't serious? " Jaz questioned heatedly.

Jaz was about to curse at her when the waitress placed their food in front of them. As soon as the woman walked away, Jaz pushed her plate to the side and glared at Joss.

"It's not the first time I've dealt with dangerous situations like this," Joss replied with an attitude.

Jaz let out a sarcastic chuckle as Joss's famous defense mechanism attitude came into play.

"Joss, dealing with a situation as a third party and being a victim are two different things."

"I'm not a victim and I'm not helpless…I'm a cop for God's sake…I'm more than capable of handling myself." Joss stated stubbornly.

"Do you hear yourself right now? Since when did being a cop make you invincible?" Jaz asked.

Jaz watched as Joss turned her head and crossed her arms. Jaz sighed and shook her head; she'd forgotten how stubborn Joss was. She'd never understand why she was always so determined to do everything on her own. Her stubbornness and self-reliance had gotten even worse after she joined the military. But she would be damned if she let her best friend get herself killed because she was too pig-headed or proud to ask for help.

Jaz sat back in her seat and thought about how to word what she wanted to say. After a moment she tilted her head and smiled solemnly at Joss. " It's ironic isn't?"

Joss looked back at Jaz with a confused expression. "What's ironic?"

"How easy it is to forget what it's like to be on the other side. You and I have both spent our careers navigating the justice system in all its flaw-ridden glory; we've become accustom to being the person that people rely on for help and protection. We spend so much time working within the system we forget that we're people too, and we occasionally find that we, ourselves, need the services that we provide for others," Jaz stated as she looked at Joss.

"I know Jaz. I'm not ignoring the situation; it's just as a cop, I know that there's nothing that the cops or the court can do until I know who's stalking me. I can't get a restraining order or issue a BOLO for a random guy named Ed who sent me gifts and saying that he's responsible for the cameras in my house without any evidence is circumstantial and if I do ever run into him I can't have him arrested until he actually tries to physically harm me ," Joss replied frustrated.

Jaz sighed. The legal system was piss poor when it came to stalking laws. She had firsthand knowledge on the subject; she had tried to put away many people for stalking. The perpetrator basically had to be caught in the act and, even, then there was no guarantee that the perp would serve any significant jail time unless their victim ended up in the hospital or morgue. It was bad enough the psychological effects stalking had on a person, but it was even worse when the victims found out the law couldn't help them until it was too late.

"So what are you doing about the situation? I'm not talking about the cops; I'm asking what type of protection, other than yourself do you have? I know plenty of private security firms and I will hire a bodyguard if I have to," Jaz stated.

"I don't need you to hire me a bodyguard, Jaz," Joss replied.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?"

Joss looked at Jaz. If she didn't give her an answer, she'd have unwanted people following her around and guarding her. But how was she supposed to describe John or Sam without saying too much?"I already have a sort of bodyguard already."

"Sort of ? What's that mean? Are they legitimate? What are their references? What company do they work for?" Jaz fired off

"Uhm… he's employed with a private consulting group. He works with a partner. They used to be former government and they're both capable."Joss replied.

"Well, that wasn't vague at all…what are their names?" Jaz asked with a roll of her eyes.

"One goes by Sam the other's name is… John," Joss replied with a small smirk and blush as she thought about the kiss she and John shared.

Jaz cooked her eyebrow as she saw the twinkle in Joss's eye, followed by the small smile.

"Well, well, well,…sooo…who's this John fellow? Do you see him often?" Jaz asked. She almost laughed as Joss's face mimicked a deer caught in headlights.

"Uhmm… he's my bodyguard," Joss replied as she looked back and forth nervously.

Jaz smirked as she leaned slightly over the table. "Ohhh, Is he now? Does he take good care of your body for you?"

"Jaz, shut up before I shoot you," Joss replied, flustered.

Jaz laughed, "Don't get mad at me; I'm not the one banging my bodyguard."

"Oh my God, Jaz! Banging? Really? What are you, fifteen? And for your information, I'm not 'banging' anybody," Joss stated, as she felt her cheeks burning.

Jaz softly chuckled as Joss squirmed, "Whatever you say JoJo. But on a serious note, I want their resumes by tomorrow morning or I'm hiring bodyguards for you."

Joss closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, Jaz was a pain in the ass. Before she could reply, Jaz's phone rang. She watched as Jaz answered it and told the person on the other line she'd be back in her office in twenty minutes.

"Joss I have to go, but before I do I want to give you something to look up," Jaz stated.

Jaz pulled out a pen and wrote a docket number and court case title on a napkin. "This is a case that I had two years ago. I want you to read the file and think about it. I want those resumes by tomorrow and you'd better call me every night to let me know that you're okay or I'm going to have a private army posted outside your door until this creep is found or put in the ground."

Joss read over the napkin before she put it in her pocket. She looked up and watched as Jaz stood and grabbed her belongings then leaned down and hugged and kissed her on the check.

"And for the love of God, pull your head out of your ass before I actually do call your mama on you," Jaz threatened.

Joss shook her head as she watched Jaz leave the diner. How was she supposed to give Jaz a resume on John or Sam? Before she was able to come up with a plan, a familiar deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Don't worry about it; Finch is already sending your friend our resumes."

Joss looked up as John sat down in front of her.

"Should've known you were listening," Joss stated.

"I always am," John replied with a small smile.

John sat silently in front of Joss as he twiddled his thumbs. He had followed Joss when she left the precinct for lunch to keep an eye on her, as well as find out who she was meeting with. After pairing the woman's phone before she walked into the café, Finch was able to give him a name.

Jasmine Williams was a criminal prosecutor and, judging by her track record, she was good at her job. While he was listening in on their conversation, John instantly knew he liked the woman and he was very glad that Joss had a friend like her. He almost wanted to give the woman a medal for getting Joss to listen to her about the severity of the situation she was in.

The entire time he was listening to them talk, he was trying to come up with a speech of some sort to apologize to Joss about his behavior. His main objective was to apologize but he had a burning need to talk about what happened between them in her kitchen. But due to their current situation, he shoved the need aside; he knew he should be focused on finding her stalker and making sure she was safe. John took a deep breath and proceeded to apologize to her.

"Joss…I'm sorry. I should have phrased my concern for you with a little more tact. I didn't mean to upset you, I just…"John trailed off trying to decide what to say next.

Joss watched as John struggled to not piss her off and she smiled a little. "John it's not you who needs to apologize; it's me. I let my own personal hang ups cloud my judgment; I should've just talked to you like an adult. I know you were just trying to help and I let my…bad attitude get in the way, and for that I'm sorry," Joss explained as she looked at John. He just stared at her before a tiny half smile played across his face.

Joss crossed her arms as she looked at John wondering why he hadn't said anything, "Normally John, this is the part of the conversation were you say something back to me."

John's blank expression turned into a smile , "I'm sorry Joss…I'm just a little shocked I was expecting you to not listen to me and I definitely didn't expect an apology."

Joss let out an exasperated sigh ,"I'm not stubborn John. I know how to admit when I'm wrong."

John bent his head and sent Joss a slightly skeptically look.

Joss pursed her lips and uncrossed her arms as she mumbled to herself.

John smiled as he heard Joss mumble that she wasn't _that_ stubborn. "So does this mean that you're not mad at me anymore and you'll let me watch over you?"

Joss smiled and nodded her head in agreement as she got up to go pay for her coffee and meal.

John followed Joss up to the register. He watched as the cashier told Joss that her friend had already paid. As they exited the diner John looked at her he knew that she took a cab to the diner.

"Let me drop you back off at work, that way I don't have to tail a crazy New York cab driver again," John said with a smile, as pulled his car keys out.

Joss laughed, "Gotta love New York cab drivers."

As they walked towards his car, John's phone rang. As he pulled his phone out, he looked at the unknown number. Before he could hit answer, his phone's speaker came on and, over the static, he heard a familiar computerized voice: _'Stop Danger Car'  
_

As he realized what the machine was talking about, John dropped his phone, reached out and grabbed the back of Joss's coat, and yanked her towards him.

Joss let out a startled yelp as she felt herself pulled back. She hit the ground hard as John rolled on top of her. Before she could question what he was doing, a deafening explosion echoed though the street as dust, debris and smoke settled around them.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I don't own any rights to the movie Safe House**

* * *

**VIII. Delayed Symptoms**

Edward watched as they left the diner when he saw the man's smug face he activated the signal and armed the bomb he'd placed under the black Town Car. When he looked up his heart dropped to his feet as he watched Joss follow the man towards his car.

Edward cursed under his breath. He'd already activated the bomb! Once it was armed, he couldn't deactivate it; if he didn't manually detonate it, the bomb would eventually go off on its own once the under belly of the car was hot enough.

Edward ducked back into the alley and frantically hit the detonate button multiple times. As he looked up, he began to panic as Joss got closer to the car and the bomb hadn't detonated. Making his decision, Edward tossed the detonator down and made his way over to the car to stop Joss. Just as he was crossing the street toward her, the car exploded and knocked him to the ground.

* * *

Joss's ears rung as she coughed. She opened her eyes to look around but her vision was blocked by John's chest. She tried to move but a throbbing pain in the back of her head caused her to close her eyes and wince.

After a few seconds, John looked over his shoulder at what was left of Finch's car. Then he looked back at Joss who was still tucked underneath him. He saw the expression of pain on her face and slowly lifted himself off of her to check her for injuries. Once he was confident that she wasn't seriously hurt, he helped her to her feet.

Joss grasped John's forearms as he helped her stand up. Once her head stopped spinning, she looked at the car John drove. Once the ringing in her ears slowed to a dull hum Joss turned around to look at John.

John looked around the ground trying to locate his phone, when he couldn't find it he turned to Joss and out stretched his hand, "Joss, I need your phone real quick?"

Joss dug into her front coat pocket and handed John her phone. She watched as he dialed Harold's number. As she waited for him to finish talking she looked around the crime scene. There were about thirty people standing around looking at the burning car. Before she could take in the scene any further she heard police and fire sirens.

"John, the police are on their way; you need to go before they get here," Joss stated.

"I'm not going anywhere," John said firmly as he looked into her eyes.

"Someone just blew up 'The man in the Suits' car, if they find out who you are they'll arrest you," Joss frantically whispered.

"No, someone just blew up an unregistered car," John replied.

Joss nervously looked backwards as the police approached. "And if they peg you as the man in the suit?"

"That would be impossible. After all, I'm just an average looking male in a suit that lives and works in New York," John said with a smirk.

_Average looking my ass_ Joss thought as she rolled her eyes. She saw the police start blocking off the sidewalks and trying to get statements from people. She put herself on high alert as two officers made their way over to her and John. It was too late for John to leave the scene now, without looking suspicious

"So, what are we telling them?" Joss asked.

"Well Joss, you finally accepted John Warren's invitation to have coffee with him. After all you did save me from the FBI."

Joss turned her head and stared at John wide eyed. Out of all the damn covers he had, he picked the one that had a link to the Man in the Suit.

John looked at the look on Joss's face "Joss it's the only cover I have that's fully developed and explains how we know one another."

John watched as she unclenched her jaw and turned towards the cops that were quickly approaching them, he could barely contain the small twitch in his lips as he tried not to smile, _well he could use another cover_ John thought as he opened his mouth and addressed the officers in front of them.

"Excuse me officers but I think my girlfriend needs to see a paramedic, I think she hit her head when that car exploded."

* * *

Fusco pulled up to the crime scene and looked at the torched remains of a car. As soon as Glasses had called telling him about the situation, he'd rushed to the scene to make sure Carter and Wonderboy were all right.

Fusco flagged down a uniform. "What happened here?"

"A car bomb went off sir. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. Detective Carter and her boyfriend were the closest to the explosion when it occurred, but they said they didn't see anything before it happened."

Fusco stood dead still and stopped listening when the uniform said 'Detective Carter and her boyfriend'.

"Detective Carter and her boyfriend?" Fusco questioned.

"Yeah, they were getting coffee together and they passed by the car before the explosion, Her boyfriend insisted that she see a paramedic; they're both by the bus getting checked out," the uniformed officer replied as he pointed towards the ambulance.

Fusco thanked him and walked towards the ambulance. He tried to control the laugh that was about to erupt. Judging by the scowl on Carter's face, Wonderboy was more than likely responsible for some, if not all of the fiasco.

"I'm a little offended Carter; I'm your partner, how come you didn't tell me you and Wonderboy were an item?"

"Shut it Fusco; I'm already not in the mood," Joss growled as she moved away from the ambulance to the cleared sidewalk.

Fusco chuckled and held his hands up. "So, what happened?"

"Someone tried to kill John," Joss replied, as she looked around to make sure no other cops were listening.

Fusco raised his eyebrow and looked at John. "Since when is that something new? So where do we go from here?"

John looked down at his watch; It was almost five in the afternoon. "You investigate Fusco, and see who planted that bomb. In the meantime, I'm taking Joss someplace safe."

"What! John I don't need..."

"Joss, you gave me your word to let me help you. Until we figure out who did this, I need to keep you safe."

"But..," Joss trailed off as she looked into John's pleading eyes and she sighed and conceded.

John let out a relieved breath when Joss didn't put up a fight. He nodded at Fusco and ushered Joss away from the crime scene. Joss's phone vibrated, John reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone noting it was a message from Harold. He smiled as he read the text.

"I hate to point out the obvious John, but I hope you don't plan on us walking to wherever were going?" Joss asked as John slowed their walk to a stop.

"We're going to one of Harold's safe houses, but first we're going to your place so you can pack whatever you need," John replied.

"Okay, but how are we getting there? Your car just blew up," Joss stated as she gestured backwards towards the crime scene.

"Harold already took care of it; he's sending a backup car," John replied, as he handed back her phone.

Before she could ask what he meant by backup car, a black Audi R8 v10 Coupe pulled up to the curb of the sidewalk. Joss stood with her mouth agape as she watched the driver get out of the car and walk towards them and hand John the keys.

"Here's your vehicle Mr. Warren. Claymont Private Car Services would like to thank for your continued business."

Joss watched as the driver got into a cab and left then turned her eyes back to the expensive car.

John smirked as he opened the door for Joss and guided her into the car. He shut the door and walked to the driver's side and got in. As he adjusted the seat and mirrors, he glanced over at Joss who was still taking in the car.

"So, this is what Harold considers a backup car?" Joss turned and smiled at John.

"Harold does have eccentric taste."

"This isn't eccentric John, it's artful," Joss replied as she slowly ran her hand over the dashboard.

"Artful?"

"Five hundred and twenty five horsepower at eight thousand revolutions per minute and three hundred and ninety one pounds of torque per foot, zero to sixty miles per hour in three point four seconds, isn't eccentric… it's an engineering masterpiece on four wheels." Joss replied as she caressed the dashboard.

John shook his head and almost let out a groan; guns, cars and sass. Definitely a woman after his own heart.

* * *

Harold re-watched the footage of the sidewalk where John and Jocelyn had been walking before the car exploded. Although, he was thankful that the machine had intervened and saved both John and the Detective's lives, he was becoming quite unsettled with the machine's growing ability to contact a person directly and converse.

Harold was brought out of his thoughts as he felt a presence behind him.

"That was a close call."

"Indeed, Ms. Shaw. What did Detective Fusco tell you about the attack?"

"Not much. Apparently the bomb was handmade and had a trigger on it, so whoever set it off was watching," Shaw replied.

"So, someone indeed is trying to kill Mr. Reese."

"Maybe, but I think there's something more to it," Shaw stated.

"Do tell, Ms. Shaw."

"Well, the way the bomb was improvised, the killer had two options; wait till they got into the car and set it off, or let it go off by itself. Once the bottom of the car got hot enough, it would have denoted on its own."

Harold nodded his head as Shaw spoke. "Then why detonate it before Mr. Reese was in the car?"

"Either the bomber messed up or the person needed to detonate the bomb early," Shaw stated.

"Why would someone who's trying to kill Mr. Reese detonate it early, knowing that the explosion wouldn't kill him?"

"If it's not an amateur, I can only think of one reason as to why I would detonate a bomb before my target was in range," Shaw replied.

"And why's that Ms. Shaw?"Harold asked.

"Someone I'm not supposed to kill got in the way."

Harold looked back at the video feed from the beginning. Harold was frustrated with to the lack of camera coverage. The poor placement of the security cameras left a blind spot and he couldn't see the other side of the street or the other side of the car. Harold pulled up the photos of the crime scene that Shaw had taken. As he looked at the pictures, an epiphany hit him as he saw a lone machine sitting on the corner in the perfect angle to capture the other side of the street. If they were lucky the machine had surveillance built in it.

Harold turned around and looked at Shaw, "Ms. Shaw how comfortable are you with stealing an ATM?"

* * *

Joss put her phone down and rubbed her temples. It was almost eight at night. After John took her home so she could pack a bag of clothes, he'd brought her to a ridiculous by expensive looking apartment in Manhattan, and then he'd left to go help Shaw steal an ATM. She didn't even want to ask him why.

As soon as she'd gotten settled, she'd called Taylor to check up on him, he'd had rushed her off the phone because he was kicking his father's butt in some basketball video game. Afterwards, Fusco called and updated her on the car bomb and then he told her that Mary's sister was coming into the station in the morning to talk to them.

Joss plopped down on the couch and tried to relax her nerves. Now that everything had settled down she was feeling the effects of everything that was happening. She hadn't said it out loud to anyone but she was on edge. So much so that she couldn't sleep more than thirty to forty- five minutes at a time without waking up thinking someone was watching her.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her phone rang as she looked down she saw Jaz's number.

"Hey, Jaz," Joss sighed heavily.

"Don't hey Jaz me, JoJo. Are you okay? I heard about the car bomb."

Joss rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Don't you have better things to do than nose around an investigation that has nothing to do with me? Don't you have court cases to be working on?"

"Screw court. Besides Joss, we have some serious business to talk about. I'm looking at your bodyguards and their resumes and I want to know, what the hell s wrong with you?"

Joss scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion and worry, pondering if Jaz found out that Sam and John weren't really bodyguards. "Jaz, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this fine piece of ass that you have following you around. He is absolutely sinful to look at."

Joss slumped into the couch and slapped her hand against her forehead. "Really Jaz?"

"Yes, really, girl! I bet he has a sexy deep voice too and those baby blues just won't quit…aww your babies are going to be adorable.''

"Our babies! Jaz I'm forty one…and I'm not pregnant!" Joss exclaimed into the phone.

"Please forty's the new thirty…so what are you doing?" Jaz asked.

Joss stood up and walked towards the kitchen, opened the fridge and pulled a beer out of it, "Right now I'm listening to you talk about my bodyguard getting me pregnant."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Joss heard keys clatter to the floor. As she whipped her head around, she saw John looking at her like she'd grown two heads.

"Jaz I have to go, I'll talk to you later." Joss rushed Jasmine off the phone as she looked at John who was now staring at her stomach.

"John, you walked in on the wrong part of that conversation...my friend was being ridiculous besides….uhm…so, what's for dinner?" Joss asked as she hastily changed the subject.

"Uhm..Chinese food," John stated slowly as he pointed to the bag of take out on the counter.

They pulled out the kitchen stools and sat down.

"So how was your moonlighting activity as a ATM robber?" Joss asked with pursued lips.

"It went well. Finch is removing the camera and trying to see if he can find out who put that bomb under the car," John replied between forkfuls of fried rice.

"That's good. Fusco said they were able to pull a partial print from the bomb. Hopefully they will be able to run it and find a match," Joss stated.

"So, what did you do while I was gone…other than talk to your friend about your bodyguard induced pregnancy?" John asked with a smirk.

"HaHaHa…. your face was priceless, though, when you thought I was pregnant…" Joss replied with a grin as she grabbed one of John's steamed dumplings with her chopsticks.

"Hey…that was mine," John groused with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, as your pretend girlfriend I reserve the right to eat your food, wear your clothes, and make you watch sappy romantic movies," Joss laughed as she stole another dumpling from him.

John smiled as he thought about how nice it would be to come home to her wearing his clothes. He tried to stifle the somber feeling he felt as he thought about how beautiful Joss would look carrying his child.

* * *

Harold stared at his computer screen as he ran a program to help enhance the picture of the man he suspected was involved in the attempt on John's life.

Harold watched as the man walked into an alley then, after twenty minutes, returned. The man walk towards John's car, kneeled down, and pretended to tie his shoe as he quickly placed the bomb under the car, and walked back across the street.

The next frame showed the man frantically pressing what Harold assumed to be, the detonator as John and Joss approached the car. When it appeared that the detonator wasn't working, the man began to cross the street headed towards the car, but his focus wasn't on John but on Detective Carter.

Harold's eyes widened as he realized one possible reason for the attempt on John's life. Before he divulged his findings he needed to check some more footage, starting at the beginning of Detective Carter's day.

* * *

John sat quietly on the couch with the TV on low volume as it played the movie they'd been watching before Joss fell asleep. John looked down and gazed at Joss's face as she lay asleep in his lap. His silent introspection interrupted as he heard a buzzing in his ear.

John answered Harold in a hushed voice and listened as he explained his theory as to who tried to kill him and why.

After Finch had bid him goodnight, John sat in silence as he tried to control his anger. He wasn't pissed that Joss's stalker had tried to kill him, he was livid because the man could have hurt or killed Joss.

John took a few breaths and calmed himself as he looked back down at Joss's face. He needed to make sure Fusco kept a lid on the fact that Joss's stalker tried to kill him. If Joss knew that his life was in danger because of her stalker, she would completely shut him and everyone around her out to try and protect them. John moved a piece of her hair out of her face and rested his hand on her shoulder.

As he was watching her sleep the words coming from the movie drew his attention and he looked up and listened as the characters talked to one another.

'_You can't expect to have a real relationship in our line of work, Don't worry. She's not going to leave you. See, what happens is, you try to protect her with lies, and then it starts to add up. After a while, even the truth...starts to sound like a lie. You'll keep covering your tracks, she'll keep believing. Because she wants to, because she needs to. That's why we exist, you and me, that's our job. To take advantage of that. People's desire to believe. To trust. She's not going to leave you, Matthew. You're going to leave her.'_

John turned the TV off and looked down at Joss. A sickening feeling rose from the pit of his stomach and lodged itself in his throat as he thought about the decision he'd made with Jessica. John felt tears well up in his eyes as he looked at Joss's sleeping face.

History always had a bleak way of repeating itself and he began to wonder if he would end up making the same decision again.


	9. Chapter 9

**IX. Bait & Hook**

John pulled up to the edge of the sidewalk and placed the car in park. "Why can't I drop you off in front of the precinct again?"

"Because I don't want anyone at the precinct to see you or your six figure car. I already have enough trouble at work without being added to the gossip mill," Joss mumbled.

John tuned and narrowed his eyes. "Who's giving you trouble at work?

"What are you gonna do beat them up for me?" Joss replied sarcastically with a smirk.

"More like shoot them," John said under his breath as he looked out the window.

"What was that?" Joss asked in a disapproving tone.

"Nothing.I need you to keep your phone with you at all times. When you leave the precinct, I want to know where you're going. Also I don't want you going anywhere by yourself. I'll be out front to pick you up after you get off work." John ordered.

"Anything else you need to know 'Dad'?"Joss rolled her eyes as she unbuckled her belt and opened the car door.

John smirked, "Yes. Don't talk to strangers."

Joss snorted as she left the car and shut the door.

* * *

Edward paced back in forth in front of the bed in the motel. "Who does that bastard think he is, Artemis? He thinks he's so cool with his fancy car and money. I know men like that! They think that just because they look good, they're entitled to any woman they see fit. Well, that fucker is in for a rude awakening because Joss is mine!"

Edward ripped the lamp from the socket and hurled it against the wall, "She's mine! I fucking own her! She loves me! She loves me…she loves me…not him!"

Edward grabbed Artemis's dog leash and pulled her off the bed. When she yelped in pain he yanked her closer. "Shut up, you little bitch! We're going to see your mother!"

Edward threw open the motel door and stormed out with Artemis.

* * *

Shaw watched from the passenger seat as a man walked into his house with a woman who clearly wasn't his wife, "It looks like the husband's cheating on the wife. I will never understand why people enter into a monogamous relationship if all they're going to do is fight and cheat."

"The mysteries of the human condition are a challenging and fascinating thing, Ms. Shaw"

Shaw snorted, "Ain't nothing mysterious about it; people are just stupid."

Shaw looked over at John and raised her eyebrow at his solemn expression "It's not even lunchtime and you're already brooding."

"I don't brood," John replied, with a glare.

"Yeah, and Bill Clinton didn't get a BJ in the oval office." Shaw laughed as she tossed the binoculars into John's lap.

"You have such an eloquent way with words Ms. Shaw," Harold interjected.

"Whatever. What happened? Carter shut you down? Or did you underperform?" Shaw asked as she pulled out a bag of Beef Jerky.

"I don't see how that's any of your business Shaw," John gruffly replied.

"Whatever. It's not like I won't find out anyway. Bros before ho's remember," Shaw stated nonchalantly

"Did you just call me a ho, Shaw?" John questioned as he looked out the windshield.

"Just letting you know whose side I'm taking just in case anything pops off between you two," Shaw replied, as she opened a bag of candy.

"You don't have to worry about that happening," John muttered.

"Why's that?" Shaw asked, curious.

John refused to answer her question. After a few seconds of silence he looked in her direction to see her glaring at him.

"You're a moron," Shaw stated as she rested her arm on the armrest

Assuming the conversation was over, John turned back to watching the house.

"Never had many attachments before, but I like Carter, so I'm going to give fair warning Reese, don't play games with her, she deserves better. Don't know what she sees in you but if you break her heart I'll break every bone in your body," Shaw replied as she crossed her arms.

Before John could reply they saw the wife of their new number pull up to her house and get of her car carrying an axe.

* * *

Joss looked up from her case files as she felt Fusco staring at her. "What is it Fusco?"

"Nothing, just wondering how your evening went?" Fusco replied with a smile.

"It was fine."Joss replied tersely.

"Just fine. Well I guess Wonderboy had to be bad at something." Fusco said and shrugged his shoulders.

"Moving on to actual police work. What did Mary's sister say to you yesterday?" Joss questioned, trying to change the subject.

Fusco chuckled and shook his head."She said she'd come by after she gets off work tonight around 5:30."

Joss grabbed a folder and stood up from her desk and handed it to Fusco. "Okay…oh, and since you have time to gossip, I need you to run a copy of Mary's coworkers statement."

Joss moved back to her desk and grabbed her gun and phone. "I'm going to grab us lunch from the shop across the street."

Fusco stood and moved towards the copy machines as he watched Carter leave the precinct. Fusco pulled out the coworker's statement of their prime suspect and placed it on the scanner.

"Detective Fusco actually doing paperwork, I guess there's a first for everything."

Fusco's back stiffened as he heard the voice of the last person he wanted to deal with today, "What do you want Simmons? I'm busy being a good cop; you should try it sometime."

"A wolf in sheep's clothing is still a wolf, Fusco. It would serve you well to remember that, but I'm only here to ask you some questions." Simmons sneered.

"And what would those be?" Fusco gruffly asked as he turned to face Simmons.

"I heard through the grapevine that Carter has a new boyfriend. A tall man in a suit. Sound familiar to you?" Simmons questioned.

"You don't have to worry about it; I already looked into it. The guy's some dweeb looking investment banker. The dork looks like he's never gotten laid a day in his life," Fusco lied nonchalantly hoping Simmons bought his bluff.

"Showing initiative Fusco. Who knows there might still be use for you yet," Simmons replied as he walked away.

Fusco moved back towards his desk as he cursed under his breath. The last thing they needed right now was HR poking their noses where they didn't belong.

* * *

"Thank you" Joss smiled as she grabbed the sandwich bags and headed out of the shop. Before she got to the crosswalk something solid ran into her legs. She whipped around on high alert ready to defend herself, but as soon as she saw the threat she chuckled.

"Hey there, don't you know it's rude to sneak up on people?" Joss asked as she knelt down and petted the overly affectionate white haired dog.

Joss smiled as the dog kept licking her hand. As she looked up from petting the dog she saw a man slowly jogging towards her carrying a leash.

"Ma'am, I'm so sorry, she just got away from me."

Joss looked up at the man and smiled, "It's okay. She's a beautiful dog. What's her name?"

Edward felt his heart skip a beat as she smiled at him. She still loved him "Her name's Artemis."

Joss looked back down at the dog and stared into the dog's electric blue eyes "Artemis. That's a very beautiful name for a very beautiful girl."

Joss giggled as Artemis licked the cheek.

Edward stared at Joss as she bonded with their dog. She was so beautiful; he wished he could just reach out and caress her soft face. Edward was brought out of his thoughts as he watched her stand up and look at her cell phone as it rung.

"You have a beautiful dog, sir. It was nice meeting you," Joss smiled as she bid them goodbye and answered her phone as she walked back to the station.

"Don't worry Artemis, Mommy's coming home with us tonight. Edward mumbled as he watched her walk away.

* * *

"That was definitely a first for me," John said with a disturbed look on his face as he slid into the driver's seat.

Shaw chuckled. "What's the matter Reese? You've never seen a dude get busy with a chick who has a dick while his wife's at work?"

John closed his eyes as he tried to get the image out of his head.

Shaw took out her phone and dialed Joss. "Carter's gonna laugh when I tell her about this."

John was about to interject when his phone rang. He looked down at the caller ID and answered, "Lionel, I was just about to call you.."

"This is important. I got a visit from Simmons this morning. He wanted to know about Carter's new boyfriend."

John narrowed his eyes. "Does he suspect I'm the Man in the Suit?"

"At first he did, but I bluffed my way out of it, I think he bought it. I just thought you should know that HR's still lurking in the dark."

John leaned back in his seat. "Thanks Fusco…just out of curiosity, what did you tell Simmons?"

"I told him you were some lanky Wall Street dork who looks like he never got laid a day in his life." Fusco let out a laugh and hung up before John could reply.

* * *

"What's so funny, Fusco?" Joss asked as she put his sandwich on his desk

"Nothing just messing around with Wonderboy. What took you so long?" Fusco asked as he pulled out his sandwich.

"Sorry, got caught up at the sandwich shop, then Sam called me," Joss said with a smile.

"Oh yeah. What did GI Jane want?" Fusco asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Joss watched Fusco demolish his lunch, "Nothing much, she and John just had to stop an angry wife from killing her husband and the woman he was cheating on her with."

"What's so interesting about that?" Fusco asked, as he took another bite of his sandwich.

Joss smirked. "Oh, I don't know, probably the fact that the woman the husband was cheating with had a dick."

Joss burst out laughing as Fusco spit his sandwich out.

* * *

Harold sat behind his computer as he read the encrypted files of the procurement lab that supplied the component parts to the cameras they had confiscated from Jocelyn's home. Luckily the stalker wasn't as thorough in getting rid of the serial numbers as he thought he was.

The perpetrator had gotten rid of the product number on the outside of the camera but he'd forgotten about the manufacturer part number on the inside. Once he was able to identify the manufacturer number, he was able to back track the product and the shipping information that went with it.

Once the address pulled up on his computer, Harold dialed John's number. "Mr. Reese, I was able to track down an address to one of the cameras."

* * *

Shaw watched as John knocked on the apartment door of the address Finch had given them.

"I don't think anyone's hom..." Before she could finish her sentence. John pulled out his gun and kicked the door open.

"Mr. Reese, I'm pretty sure that you're breaking the law, not to mention violating Mr. Stevens' rights." Harold chastised as he heard the splintering of wood.

"He doesn't get any rights Finch," John growled as he looked around the apartment.

"Regardless of how you feel, Mr. Reese, kicking the door off its hinges will make prosecuting Mr. Stevens for his actions harder for the police if you compromise evidence."

John looked back at the door. "Don't be ridiculous Finch; the door's still on one off its hinges."

"Don't worry Finch, once this dude meets Reese, he'll be begging to be put in prison, if only to get away from the punisher," Shaw replied as she opened the door to the back room and flicked on the lights.

Shaw clutched her gun as her blood ran hot with anger as she looked at the pictures that covered the wall in the bedroom. "On second thought, a jail cell is to good for this bastard. I say we just execute this fucker right now."

Harold scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as he heard Shaw's venom –laced voice.

Shaw turned to warn Reese not to come into the room, but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw John standing in the doorway.

All John felt was utter disbelief as he stared at the pictures covering the walls. There were hundreds of them, all of Joss. There were pictures of her walking on the street, sitting down eating, walking out of her home, jogging in the park and standing next to her son. John saw red as his eyes traveled over the pictures of Joss taking a shower and getting dressed.

Shaw watched helplessly as John turned on his heel and stormed out of the bedroom.

"Finch, I suggest you call Fusco or Carter and tell them what's going on," Shaw urged hastily as she followed John out of the apartment.

* * *

Fusco watched as Carter walked Mary's sister out to her car. He felt bad for the young woman. She felt horrible for not realizing her sister might have been stalked before she disappeared. Fusco looked at his watch; it was almost 8PM. He couldn't wait until Wonderboy arrived so he could go home. Fusco was brought out of his thoughts as his phone rang.

"Detective Fusco, there's an urgent matter I must speak to you about."

"What is it?" Fusco sat up in his chair.

"We have found Detective Carter's stalker; his name is Edward Stevens," Harold stated.

"Isn't that good news. Why do you sound so unsettled?" Fusco asked, puzzled.

"Because Ms. Shaw and Mr. Reese 'let themselves into' Stevens apartment and found some rather disturbing material."

"Disturbing material?" Fusco questioned, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, and I am concerned that Mr. Reese, in his anger, will do something that he'll regret," Harold replied.

"Ah,hell. Where is he now?" Fusco asked getting up.

"According to his phone's location, he's headed toward the precinct."

"Damn. All right let me warn Carter before he gets here and does something stupid."Fusco replied.

"Thank you, Detective" Harold breathed a sigh of relief.

Fusco moved from behind his desk and headed outside to find Carter.

* * *

Joss waved goodbye to Mary, as she pulled away from the metered parking spot on the side of the street. Joss turned around and began to walk back to the precinct. As she walked up the street, Joss stopped in her tracks as she saw a dog sitting in the middle of the empty sidewalk. When she got closer, she realized she recognized the dog.

"Artemis ?"

The dog barked and laid down on the ground as soon as she was close. Joss raised her eyebrow wondering why the dog was alone. As she got closer, Joss bent down and scratched her ears. "Hey girl, what are you doing out here all alone? Where's your owner?"

Joss watched as the dog whimpered and flattened her ears to her head. Before Joss knew what was happening she felt a hand grab her hair roughly and yank her up. Before she had time to think, she felt a prick in her upper right thigh.

"We're going home, Joss."

As soon she realized what was going on her instincts kicked into overdrive. Joss threw her head back, hearing a grunt as the back of her head connected with her assailant's nose. As soon as the man let her go, she swayed sideways towards the street. She tried to grab her gun but her body felt like it was shutting down. Her vision blurred and she couldn't feel her legs.

As she stumbled backwards off the sidewalk, the last thing she remembered hearing was a gunshot followed by a car horn and then everything faded to black.


End file.
